UVM Policy & Guidelines

Public
concern about misconduct in research first surfaced in the early 1980’s
following reports of cases of egregious misbehavior. One researcher
republished under his own name dozens of articles previously published
by others. Other researchers in one way or another falsified or
fabricated research results. To make matters worse, it seemed as if
research institutions sometimes ignored or deliberately covered up
problems rather than investigate them. Eventually Congress stepped in
and required Federal agencies and research institutions to develop
research misconduct policies.

Research misconduct policies provide guidance on responsible
conduct in three areas. They:

establish definitions for misconduct in research

outline procedures for reporting and investigating
misconduct, and

provide protection for whistleblowers (persons who report
misconduct) and persons accused of misconduct

Together,
the definitions of and procedures for handling allegations of
misconduct in research form an initial foundation for effective
self-regulation in research.

Although Federal policies
technically apply only to federally funded research, many research
institutions apply Federal research misconduct policies to all
research. Many research institutions have also broadened the basic
Federal definitions to include other inappropriate practices. In
combination, Federal and institutional research misconduct policies
define research practices that researchers must avoid. Failure to do so
can result in the termination of employment or ineligibility to receive
Federal funding.